An avid motorcyclist is thanking his lucky stars after sustaining multiple injuries in a crash that occurred on Sunday, September 20, 2015. Tommy Stone was riding his 2012 Suzuki DRZ400 away from his home in Limington. He rode through Fryeburg and Bethel without incident, but ran into problems on Greenwood Rd. leading to Rt. 117 when an unidentified animal darted out in the road in front of Stone’s motorcycle. Fortunately, Stone survived the crash and acknowledged that it could have been much worse.
Momentary distraction led to Maine motorcycle crash
Stone informed a local journalist that he knew the speed limit would drop to 35 miles per hour not too far ahead of a hill he was navigating. Stone checked his speedometer to make sure he wasn’t going too fast. When he laid eyes on the road again, there was an animal in front of his bike that he couldn’t identify.
“Even thinking back on it now all I see is a two-foot-tall grey blob. It wasn’t really scurrying like a porcupine, so I’m assuming raccoon? Maybe fox?” said Stone in an interview. “For whatever reason, I didn’t think I could swerve around or hit it head on without really bad things happening. So, I went into a panic stop…”
Stone went on to note that his rear wheel locked almost as soon as he hit the brakes. In the few seconds that it took the crash to occur, Stone couldn’t tell if his front wheel locked as well. He tried to correct the course of the motorcycle, but soon found himself sliding on the ground.
“I probably laid on the ground for 5-10 seconds before I really understood what had just happened,” said Stone. When he gathered himself, Stone managed to get to his feet, although he could not place any weight on his left leg without feeling excruciating pain. Although Stone had come to a stop about 15 feet away from his bike, he managed to get back to his bike and get it out of the road.
Motorcyclist credits safety gear for preventing worse injuries
Stone called a family member, who quickly arrived at the crash site and brought Stone to the nearest emergency room in Norway. At the hospital, he discovered that he had broken every toe in his left foot, including his big toe. Stone also suffered from a painful case of road rash, but he knows that it could have been much worse.
“Gear really saved most of my skin on this one. Helmet is beat up, riding jacket is beat up, gloves are beat up, Sidi boots are beat up. But, every piece of clothing helped save me from getting killed,” Stone said.
Legal advocates for Maine motorcycle accident victims
Residents of the Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland areas are invited to contact the law firm of Hardy, Wolf & Downing at 1-800-INJURED to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with a personal injury attorney. If you have sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident in Maine, our legal team will be happy to explain any applicable liability issues.